Linux Store launched by The Linux Foundation

Linux.com is now a destination for Linux fans wanting to buy t-shirts, mugs, hats, or stickers, to help support their favorite operating system. The new merchandise store has been launched by The Linux Foundation, with profits being fed back into the continued development and promotion of Linux.

Jim Zemlin, executive director at The Linux Foundation said:

Selling Linux-specific merchandise is another way to support community development. The Linux.com Store aims to serve a community of people who want to display their affinity for Linux specifically while supporting important activities that advance the platform.

To help promote the new store a contest is being run to design your own t-shirt. The Linux.com T-Shirt Design Contest is asking you to submit a t-shirt design that reflects the Linux community and will hopefully sell well. In return you can win a trip to LinuxCon in Boston.

You have until April 11th to submit a design, after which the top five designs will be made available to view. The community will then get to vote, and the best design will make it as an actual t-shirt for sale in the store.

This new Linux store would do well to have a look at what a t-shirt store like Threadless is doing. The community is always designing and submitting new t-shirts, and they get fed on to the store meaning there’s always something new to buy.

This t-shirt contest is a great start, but I want to see a constant flow of ideas and new merchandise being added every month. I’m sure there’s a lot of Linux users out there with ideas, and a lot more willing to buy new stuff regularly. Lets just hope this is the start, with the idea getting expanded in the near future.